Review of The Martian, by Andy Weir

Guys. GUYS. This book.

Seriously, this fucking book.

One of my beta readers mentioned that the first half of The Ancillary reminded them of The Martian. So I requested it for my birthday from my wife, and being the fellow book-lover that she is, she obliged. I opened the book while we were sitting in the Richmond airport, getting ready to fly to Las Vegas for vacation.

I didn't put the book down until we landed in Vegas. Then I read more in the cab ride to the hotel. I grudgingly put it down while we went to eat and gamble... but I woke up the next morning at 6:00am and finished it while drinking my morning coffee.

Yeah, that's how good this book was.

The Martian, by Andy Weir, is the story of Mark Watney, a botanist stranded on Mars after his crewmates mistakenly leave him for dead. He's forced to use what little resources are at his command to survive until they return, several years later.

The book is a combination of Kerbal Space Program (the game), Robinson Crusoe, and Apollo 13. Problems, hastily-made solutions, and then new problems. Mark is an extremely likeable character, with a dry, sarcastic humor that thrives in his particular crisis. You love this guy from page one, rooting for him to survive each new hurdle.

The second half of the book probably isn't as good as the first, but that's a minor complaint. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Read this book. Seriously.

The Ancillary Cover Timelapse

My wonderful cover designer Kyle G made another timelapse video, this time for The Ancillary. And once again it's breathtaking to watch.

Goodreads Giveaway!

Want a paperback copy of The Ancillary adorned with my useless scrawl of a signature? I'm giving away two copies on Goodreads! Follow the link below to enter.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Ancillary

by David Kristoph

Giveaway ends February 27, 2015.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

"Stories We've Seen Too Often"

Strange Horizons, an online speculative fiction magazine, recently posted a list of the stories they receive too often. You can read the full list from that link, but I've picked out a few of their funniest, most stereotypical items. I was proud to see that, so far, my books haven't fallen into a single category yet! 

• 3. Visitor to alien planet ignores information about local rules, inadvertantly violates them, is punished. -man, I see this trope way too often in writing.
• 4. Weird things happen, but it turns out they're not real. -I hate this. It makes me physically angry when I come across it as the final twist in a book.
• 12. Evil unethical doctor performs medical experiments on unsuspecting patient. -This is a fun trope, but it's definitely done too often. 
• 14. White protagonist is given wise and mystical advice by Holy Simple Native Folk. -This falls into the "magical negro" category too. 
• 25. It's immediately obvious to the reader that a mysterious character is from the future, but the other characters (usually including the protagonist) can't figure it out. -Meh.
• 34. Teen's family doesn't understand them. -Literally 99% of all YA. 
• 44. Title consists entirely of a string of digits. -I can't believe this is a thing that's done at all, let alone overdone. 
• 45. Baby or child is put in danger, in a contrived way, in order to artificially boost narrative tension. -Ehhh, I almost violate this one in Siege of Praetar, although I would argue the danger is not "contrived".

Obviously a writer doesn't need to make sure they don't violate every single rule on this list, but it's a fun run-down of some of the most overdone themes, especially if your goal is to eventually be traditionally published.

Guest Interview

Raven Oak interviewed me for her blog this week; head over to her website to take a look at what I had to say!